the three people that watch this show. [ laughter ] >> joy: at caroline tonight. rush right over there. >> you can get my autographed book rubber balls and liquor, and my dirty joke d.v.d., and. >> joy: couldn't they get that at gilbert.com. >> and you can also here me read 50 shades of gray on that. >> joy: thanks to all my guests tonight. happy holiday. >> you're always on. [ laughter ] >> cenk: welcome to "young turks." we have a wild show. sean lennon is on the show. so is kneel barovsky. we're going to talk about of

course the fiscal cliff and negotiations, how are they going. how unpopular are the republics. then we go to zero dark 30. mccain and republicans are mad at the scenes in the movie. >> they're not your friend. they're not going to help you. we're going to break you. any questions? >> cenk: damn, that sounds harsh. all right we'll talk about you fracking how the bankers got away with it. >> finally should a transgender woman be allowed to play basketball in a woman's league? interesting. >> even though there might be a million people telling them no, don't do it, follow your heart. >> we didn't think about her being a transsexual. she's 6'7". who doesn't want that? >> we'll discuss the end of the world. did it end in sydney?

we will have a live shot. it's not only go tile. at the end of the show, we'll find out if it's stop time. go. [ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> cenk: all right the whole crew's here. anna ben michael and we were discussing a little politics here in the beginning. first of all let me give you guys awesome poll. is the gop too extreme. >> that would only be 53% of all americans saying yes, in fact 22% of republicans say the party is too exveal. those are really strong words and they certainly had it coming. meanwhile, they're working on an extreme plan right now trying to pass plan b. which has nothing to do with contraception, obviously they would be against that. it has to do with taxes and the so-called fiscal cliff.

their proposal, they say for people making more than a million dollars we'll go back to the clinton era rates, 35 to 39%. capital gains goes from 15% to 20%. of course, they keep the bush's safe tax at incredibly low rate that it is, plus take away a couple of your deductions, including the earned income credit and child tax credit. they will be gone. it's irrelevant. even if they pass it in the house, the president will veto it. there they are. they're in the middle of a vote. oh, my god. can you imagine if this vote goes one way or the other? yeah, i can. things will be the same. >> this is about making mt. lawrence a designated site. >> oh, can you imagine if it wasn't dedicated. that was fun.

that was the house. we just saw the house live. that's the first time i've ever seen that many people inside the house. nobody is giving a peach obviously. that poll, devastating. does it change the republicans at all? do they look at it and go maybe we should do a core stretch. >> it's not very conservative. the word "extreme" is in there. i don't think they need to keep seeing poll numbers to know they need to do a change. do they see this as a different way to brand themselves or recognize that it's not about branding. do they change the actually policies? i think they're much more likely to treat it as branding and so the and rubio as the new face of the republican party without any change in policy. >> i think that's right. just think about a month ago

trying to make it seem like they were the most reasonable party because they were willing to break norquist's pledge. when you look to the details they weren't really to break the pledge. we'll get rid of some deductions, but not increase tax rates. they never learn their lesson regardless of what the polls say. >> cenk: there's a clip here, one from the heritage foundation, other club for growth and last one, these are the conservative groups. are they going to bend? no, they'll go the other way and say i can't believe republicans would ever consider raising a dime of taxes on our prejudicial beautiful rich folks in this country. >> the american people did not reelect the conservatives. the house of representatives become tax checkers or barack obama's welfare state. >> we supported challengers opposed to tarp, opposed to the debt deal, 2011 and this is the sort of vote that we'll look at closely when we look at hour

options in 2014. >> a whole lot of members who thought they were safe and thought they could get away with this will lose in their own districts. >> cenk: so me, what's interesting is that the press will look at that and go look, that's the right wing and then they'll show progressives, they hate to deal, so the answer must be in the middle. what they don't say is their position is deeply unpopular. about 70% of the country doesn't agree. a majority of republicans do not agree with the position. a progressive position, don't cut social security and medicare is deeply popular 87% saying we agree with the progressives. >> so many of the people that the club for growth supported this year didn't win. so we're talking about this conservative congress and yes it is a conservative congress. most of them were reelected. they had a terrible record this

year with the senate and house. our report card, we've been hearing from the n.r.a. for a long time. that argument is going to weaken. also today the president polled at 56% his highest approval rating since 2009. that combined with these numbers would make you think that the president would be able to sort of take a steam roller through congress. >> the club for growth, did we acknowledge this before? sounds like late night male enhancement pills. >> cenk: now that you say it, it makes no sense in the world but i thought it was for hair. >> yeah, that's what i thought too. >> you're worried about your hair, i'm worried about... all right. >> cenk: michael's point about how president obama is handling these negotiations, he's got the leverage. how is he going to use it? this is yesterday, 8:23. this video shows you a lot about how president obama negotiates. >> look at where we started

look at where they started. my proposal is right there in the middle. the fact that they haven't taken it yet is puzzling. >> cenk: ok. so two thoughts about that. that's just funny. i started over here. they started over here and my proposal's here. wait, where did you start? i mean that goes to how obama negotiates, every single time. what he doesn't get is it doesn't help you in a negotiation, it actually hurts you, not just getting to your policy goal, but actually even getting a deal. if you're negotiating with somebody and they keep giving you more and more, don't you just sit back and go let me see how long this lasts. >> it's been easy for the republicans so far. speaking of republicans ignoring the polls. if obama is so willing to compromise when it comes to taxes, obama is ignoring the people that reelected him. that's the main reason he got reelected.

>> nancy pelosi said i consider it a strengthening of social security. >> that's justify the kind of thing republicans said from reagan's day on. >> cenk: i know. that's what's horrible about the democratic negotiation that not only do they say oh, goddamn it, at the very last second, we've got to do a deal. ok. they adopt republican positions and go on the record and defend republican positions saying cutting social security is strengthening. nobody ever says cutting defense strengthens defense. >> why can they not say i think we're going to have to use the chained c.p.i. we're going to bite the bullet and do it, we think it's terrible, but republicans are insisting on it. at least say that. >> don't say i love the position it strengthens social security. >> if we do that fonzie said we

should do. >> hey hey! >> we, you know, we'd still be here criticizing that, too. it is a stronger way of going about it. the point is don't say stop right there don't say it's strengthening something that it's not. >> cenk: speaking of things that drive me crazy, fox news, secretary of state hillary clinton will not be testifying because she had a concussion. >> apparently the madam secretary butched her head the other day and her doctor said stay in bed. >> when you don't want to go to a meeting or event one have a diplomatic illness. >> she took a knee. >> she is suffering from an acaught benghazi allergy. >> she passed out somewhere. is she unconscious somewhere? >> hillary has severe ben goody allergy. >> that any doctor come forward and said it is a concussion? >> jim home run borrow would have replaced her by now.

>> look, if obama and the democrats had done this or msnby, john mccain slips and hurts himself and he's got a concussion. they'd go look at these liberals who have no decency left in america. the man is with a concussion. >> he's a hero. >> isn't she testifying in january? >> she's going to testify anyway. >> of course she is. she was secretary of state. she's going to testify before the committee that calls her. >> cenk: when we come back, we'll talk to sean lennon about fracking. there he is. he's got a great case to make about whether new york should do it or not. i want to give you a hint on that. they shouldn't. we're also going to show you snow in chicago. why is that important?

they just broke a record for how many snow days not in chicago. >> a record latest. there will be flights canceled at o'hare. (vo)answer: pour disaronno into a flute glass and top with prosecco. brought to you by disaronno. be originale.

let's rock and roll. there is so much going on that every day presents another exciting issue. from financial regulation, iran getting a nuclear bomb, civil war in syria, fraud on wall street, destruction of medicare and medicaid. there are real issues here. having been a governor, i know that trade-offs are tough. things everyday exploding around the world that leave no shortage for exciting conversations. i want our viewer to understand why things have happened. at the end of the show, you know what has happened, why its happened and more importantly, what's going to happen tomorrow.

>> i'm in chicago. the bottom's going to fall out around 5:00 to 7:00. the first measurable snow of the season. that's a record latest. >> cenk: the thing about this record, it's finally snowing in chicago. it took 290 days. that's the longest stretch chicago has ever gone without snow. i wonder if there's climate change going on. probably not let's ignore it for a couple more decades. one issue involving energy is of course fracking. it has issues involving climate change and regarding other environmental concerns and safety concerns, as well. there are people who profit from it and driving the agenda. a rich, right wing family were funding projects in sunni a college in new york, until it

was discovered that academic research about fracking was paid for by the guys who want to do fracking. it's coming to a head in new york in february. they say fracking is not so bad. mayor blackberg said: >> cenk: that sounds kind of dirty and in a couple of different ways. governor cuomo is stainingly silent on it. watch this report. >> we have supply of power in northern new york and quebec. we have power supply in western new york. we have a tremendous need for power in down state new york. let's connect the dots. >> a mention of hydrofracking was notably absent from his vision was the state's energy policy. the development of the natural gas industry will depend on whether new york moves to allow the drilling technique.

>> cenk: there are some people fighting back. artists against fracking are one of those groups, urging cuomo to vote against it. they said imagine there's no fracking. it's from yoko and sean lennon. hence the imagine. i got it. they've come up with an interesting song to drive home this message, as well. let's watch. ♪ there ain't no place left on this earth to discover ♪ ♪ but please, don't frack my mother ♪ >> don't frack me! >> cenk: sean lennon joins us right now. sean. >> hey what's up? >> great to talk to you man. thanks for fighting back on this. we appreciate it. first of all tell us about fracking and why you think it might not be safe under any circumstances. >> well, ultimately, the way that i found out about it was

that cabot oil came to my county where my mom and dad had a house. we've had our own well water for a long time. their proposing this giants pipeline for using for fracking across the state. that got me involved. i wanted at first to save my own water and researched it and realized all new york water is at stake. then i realized climate change itself which is already at a tipping point, based on the weather in chicago and all around the world we're at a point where we're at a critical point with saturating atmosphere with carbon dioxide. there's 100 times more greenhouse gas. dr. hanson just came out with the biggest climate change study in history. essentially, it means we can't afford to do gas drilling, either. we can't afford coal burning or gas drilling. both things will tip the planet

into a catastrophic climate change. i learned a lot in the last six months since i started artists against fracking, which is the coalition that i began, because of this whole sort of story and it's been a lot of facts to learn very quickly and been really terrifying. the deeper i've gotten into it, the uglier it's presented to be. >> cenk: mayor bloomberg as i just showed said oh, you can do this sensibly. how do you make an argument against that? >> well, i think. >> cenk: because when somebody hears no, you can't do it sensibly i feel like they always want to find a middle ground and fight back against that. >> that's the question of the problem with modern journalism is nobody is taken seriously unless they show two sides of an argument. bloomberg is very connected with the business world. he has a big heart.

he's an intelligent guy but has people around him with a lot of other interests that are not the environment and health of the people. ultimately, if you just look at what he said, you can see the flaw. we're not going to frack near the manhattan aquifer it's too dangerous, we'll frack elsewhere, near other aquifers. it is too dangerous for the population of manhattan therefore, it should be too dangerous for all population. just because there's only a thousand people in a town doesn't mean they're expendable and their health should be expendable. that's the flaw in the argument he's making and sadly the best argument he's made. there's no other argument for doing it "safely" other than trying to keep it away from the people who matter, apparently the big city people. >> cenk: that's interesting. we found if you're shooting up walls in the center of the middle of the country, that's ok, but in newtown where one of the major financial companies that owned the rifle company

then all of a sudden, they got to sell off the company and it's not ok. it's an interesting point that you're making. now when you go to governor cuomo, look, nationwide, it's really hard to stop this, you know the energy companies. they've bought off so many politicians. new york is supposed to be a liberal state solidly blue. do you have a chance with cuomo here to get the right decision? >> i think we do have a chance. obviously, it's a big fight. i think the gas industry is taking advantage of the faction that we're in session now proposing it as a solution to disentanglement to the middle east and creating more jobs. the truths is as bill clinton said in 2011, you can create more jobs based on the german bank research, insurance company, you can create actually exponentially more jobs by retrofitting and insulatedding old buildings and creating renewable energy economy like they have done in germany. they have 50% renewables.

all of germany is 25-30% renewables. that's mostly solar. germany has less sun than much of america. the idea that is not an economic solution is a complete falsity. we're totally at the point we can do this right now. i think the, you know, we're really in a situation where there's an old paradigm, the oh oh post oil revolution, industry which is very powerful and strong, perhaps the strongest in the world. they obviously want to continue to do things within their paradigm and with their own interests in mind. that's how the free market works, i guess but we have to enlighten the people and make them understand there is nothing safe about this. it's just as dirty as coal, it's going to cause climate change. it's not which fossil fuel we like. this is all about climate change and obviously having clean air and water is important but if we tip the earth into unlivable

environment, everybody suffers. in fact, a lot of us are going to perish. so, you know, it seems overly dramatic and a lot of the gas saying this is a scare tactic. i want to hang out in my room and play guitar. i have no dire desire to be talking about this. i think once you know the information and intern amize it, everyone is going to be forced to be engaged. this is an issue that affects all of us and all generations of the future. i don't want to get too heavy but that's true. >> it is. there's no way around it. my favorite conservative argument was god gave us the oil, it would be an insult not to use it. god gave us the sun and wind, as well. not the best arguments. >> does that mean he believes in dinosaurs or not? that's a conflicting stories here. it's the dinosaurs that turn into the oil isn't it? >> cenk: of course not. >> i thought god made dinosaurs.

>> cenk: i get confused. thanks for joining us and thanks for fighting back in new york. we appreciate the effort. >> it was great to be here. thank you. >> cenk: all right take care. we'll talk to you soon. >> bye. >> cenk: all right now when we come back. we're going to talk a little bit about torture, it's in the form of a movie. it seems they're twisting the truth in zero dark 30. we even have republican senators mad about it. >> i think he's getting ready to say something. are you getting ready to say something? what do you want to say, huh? careers of tomorrow. share your career story at current.com/knowhow tell us about how you've let nothing stand in the way of being ready for the future.

[ piano plays ] troy polamalu's going deeper. ♪ ♪ and so is head & shoulders deep clean. [ male announcer ] with 7 benefits it goes deep to remove grease, gunk and flakes. deep. like me. [ male announcer ] head & shoulders deep clean for men. ♪ ♪ >> cenk: we're back here on the "young turks."

ben is a movie critic, as well as regular on the "young turks." he hosts turner classic movies on the weekend. >> and cohosts vote the flick. limited release last night, a lot of debate about whether the film endorses torture shows a critical link in the capture of bin laden. that's one thing i am unclear on after seeing the film. i expected to feel like that torture led to the capture. didn't get that feeling. he says it makes it clear. i don't think so. this is information that led to the bin laden courier. we have a brief trailer not nearly at graphic. >> can i be honest with you?

i am bad news. i'm not your friend. i'm not going to help you. i'm going to break you. do you have any questions? >> cenk: yeah, i kind of have questions. i don't think that's the best way to go about it. because i mean, don't they give up the best information, we'll talk to a former c.i.a. agent. don't they give the best information when you trick them into thinking like well, yeah, this is going to help, yeah. >> that's espionage. >> when he actually gives up the information, they trick him into thinking a terrorist attack had not happened, but it actually happened. he's been locked up and has no idea it happened, so gives up the relevant information. in an earlier scene when he could give up the attack, he does say the attack is coming wednesday, and crying, panicking, wednesday thursday, friday saturday, sunday.

they've tortured him into giving up gibberish. john mccain, who sent a letter, mccain was on today with wolf blitzer and was asked not out khalid sheik mohamed. >> none of that scowled enhancive interrogation techniques used, none of it provided any useful information that eventually resulted in the killing of bin laden? >> there is no information whatsoever that shows that. in fact, there's information that they misled the interrogators, while this violation of the geneva conventions, torturing people was going on. >> here's the letter that feinstein, mccain and levin sent

to sony distributing the film: >> cenk: yeah, to be fair to mccain and those guys, i don't think they're saying that no torture has ever led to one piece of correct information. they're saying in this case, it did not lead to the capture of bin laden. >> my understanding is that there were three pimassively water boarded who knew about the courier. one of them gave up the one depicted in the film is the one who gave up information about the courier. >> cenk: the one gay gave it up when he was not being tortured. >> but the threat of being tortured again may have affected

that. >> cenk: we have a former c.i.a. operative, and author of "blowing my cover," lindsey great to have you here. >> your cover is totally blown. >> cenk: apparently so, wrote a whole book about it. talk to us about this. what is -- in your experience, in what they taught you back in the day when torture was not you know, standard operating procedure, what is the most effective way of getting information according to, you know conventional witness tom? >> well, ironically, i feel like this dark period in the c.i.a. when we were using enhance the interrogation techniques, which started pretty much coincided when i left the agency, and i'm glad about that, because i think that would have been a moral and ethical straw that breaks the camel's back for me personally and frankly i think a lot of people at the agency. really the most effective means of gathering intelligence is recruiting human sources and in

fact, relying on enhanced interrogation techniques kind of makes it harder for operatives overseas. that is that i always felt good about saying, you know, i work for the americans i work for the u.s. government and we're the good guys. we don't play by the rules that our enemies do. we adhere to the geneva conventions and during this period, i don't think we were able to say that. i would say as a result, we probably had a much harder time recruiting human sources because we didn't have that moral high ground. >> cenk: because the moral high ground is not a matter of just morality, it's gaining their trust and you need that in order to get the information. >> very much so, and, you know, is specially with our targets our main targets bin terrorists, we need people with access to information to these networks and winning the trust of those people is extremely difficult

so when we start using the tactics of our enemies we lose that ability to say we're different. so i think that that period in the c.i.a.'s history was a really dark stain on oh the agency and quite frankly, our country. full disclosure, i haven't seen "zero dark 30" yet. i'll form my own opinion whether or not i think it condones torture, but i think if it gives the impression that torture led to the capture of osama bin laden, that's really kind of morally and artistically irresponsible from a writer and director who has professed that this is 90% documentary, it's a documentary style dramatization. >> cenk: some are suggesting that well, the c.i.a. wanted to

paint it in a light favorable to them. in order to get the access,le filmmakers, the guy who wrote the movie he when press said on this point said well, it's not a documentary, it's a movie because he knows he's wrong about that. >> arguing by saying it's based on journalism and when cornered on it use the art defense. >> could it be this is how you play ball and get access to the c.i.a. >> it could. i think it's astounding the unprecedented access that these movie makers had to the c.i.a. that's never happened before. you know i certainly wouldn't like to think that the c.i.a. had control over the movie but it's remarkable to me that they would give that access without having some kind of creative control over the movie. but that said, i don't think that a lot of people at the agency want to give the impression to the american public or to the international

public that those are the tactics that are effective and that the c.i.a. uses. you know, there were people on both sides of the debate within the c.i.a. on the moral implications of using enhanced interrogation techniques. i would say almost across the board, people agreed that that was not the effective way of getting good, solid intelligence, that came through years of trade craft recruiting sources and painstaking analysis. >> lindsey great information as always. >> it will be interesting to see how you react when you see the film. there's no question that they say some information led to the capturing of bin laden i did not leave the movie feeling like that was the overriding point. >> cenk: the detractors, if you're watching really carefully looking out for that, you're right. some will say i don't know, there was torture in the

beginning and at the end, they got lynn laden. >> i don't think they will think that. >> cenk: i am looking forward to seeing that. when we come back, former special ambassador for attach, a credit particular of how we have been handling the banks will be talking to us about a he great injustice that just happened with the banks. every day presents another exciting issue. from financial regulation, iran getting a nuclear bomb, civil war in syria, fraud on wall street, destruction of medicare and medicaid. there are real issues here. having been a governor, i know that trade-offs are tough. things everyday exploding around the world that leave no shortage for exciting conversations. i want our viewer to understand why things have happened. at the end of the show, you know what has happened, why its happened and more importantly, what's going to happen tomorrow.

>> well, you know how the banks have been getting away with so

much criminality over the last at least four or five years or so. well, we've got many more examples of that. u.b.s., a swiss bank admitted we fixed the interest rate. for example, at a bare minimum. it probably cost fannie may and freddie mac $3 billion. who owns that? at this point the american taxpayer. they pay a $1.9 billion fine. get how many executives get arrested? none. no peaks. was, that's how it goes. hsbc perhaps even worse. here's a bank that did business with apparently the bank that funded al-qaeda, including wiring money to one of the 9/11 attackers that did business with the drug lords. what do they get? a $1.5 billion fine. nobody gets arrested. why? they're too big to jail. brian asked about that in this report.

watch this. >> this is a very just, very real and very powerful result. >> you don't think the bank got off easy? >> no, and i don't think the bank thinks it got off easy. >> $38 billion in profits over the last two years hsbc can easily afford it's payment. >> cenk: yeah, a joke. nonsense. i mean, the fact that these guys are not in jail when they're the biggest money launderers for drug straighters in the world. stephanie george is sitting in jail and has a life sentence because her exboyfriend hid cocaine in her attic. her earlier convictions were for drug transactions equalling $40 and $120. $40 and $120, life sentence. the top bankers who funneled all the money to the drug lord says, no sentence.

there's just no justice in that. kneel parovski has been fighting back against that. you looked at the tarp program you were the inspector general. you came out with the assessment and you were inside the system. when you look at why hsbc does no the get punished after all this talk about oh, my god al-qaeda and the doing business with the drug lords and they get away scot-free. why does it happen? >> in many ways, this is just like the bailout of 2008. you have a bank like hsbc which commits historical criminal acts, $800 million of colombian cocaine cartel money are being laundered as the charges demonstrate, and criminal charges don't follow, not

because of a lack of evidence, not because they didn't have the goods on them, but because of concerns voiced by the treasury department the bailouters in chief, the great protectors of the big banks concerned that criminal charges would destabilize the financial system. it is another form of bailout but this one even more pernicious than what we saw in 2008. it creates or at least recognizes that we have two tears of justice, one for everyone else like that poor person serving a life sentence or frankly the colombian money launderers that i prosecuted who got 10 year sentences or the ones who wear suits and work at banks who hold the economy hostage. say go ahead charge us and if you do, you'll bring down the global economy. it's an unsustainable system. >> cenk: it's a joke that we fixed too big to fail. they said we can't prosecute these guys, because it would

endanger the global economic system. it's a get out of jail free card forever. my question to you is what hope do we have, or are these guys almost definitively going to crash the system again? >> ultimately the hope comes after they crash the system again. this is an unsustainable path. when you do this, publicly state that there is a second standard, that incentivizes them to commit crime. getting caught is a marginal cost, so it's going to drive more and more risk and we enforce some of the same problems and per investigations that come with too big to fail and if we don't do something about it, drives us into the

next financial crisis. if we don't neuter this advantage that they have, we will have another crisis and more devastating than the last one given that they are bigger and more powerful than before the last crisis. >> cenk: president obama is not going to fix too big to fail. >> there's no chance. i mean, they put all of their eggs in the dodd frank basket. it hasn't done the job. when it's proven false and that can happen during president obama's reign. in the next four years it's not unrealistic to see that we'll have another crisis. we're going to have to fix it. we'll demonstrate that we haven't done enough. i hope and pray that this parade of scandals will wake people up in washington and realize that we better do something now because it's going to be very painful if we have to do it later. >> cenk: thank you for joining

us we do appreciate it. >> thanks for having me back. >> cenk: when we come back, some are worried about the end of the world? the australian prime minister might agree with them. >> it's in doubt that the mayian calendar said that the world is about to end. come into red lobster and sea food differently. and introducing 7 lunch choices for just $7.99. salads, sandwiches, and more.

but when joint pain and stiffness from psoriatic arthritis hit even the smallest things became difficult. i finally understood what serious joint pain is like. i talked to my rheumatologist and he prescribed enbrel. enbrel can help relieve pain, stiffness, and stop joint damage. because enbrel, etanercept suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections tuberculosis lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores have had hepatitis b have been treated for heart failure,

or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. [ phil ] get back to the things that matter most. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. [ doctor ] enbrel, the number one biologic medicine prescribed by rheumatologists. >> well, tomorrow is 12-21 according to the mayans the end of the world this year, except it's tomorrow in australia. the prime minister of australia gillard has spoken out. >> to the remaining fellow australians, the end of the word is coming. it turns out that the mayan calendar was true, whether from zombies or the total triumph.

>> we have a shot of sydney. oh, my god what has happened? oh oh, no. just to make sure. owner of cafe hernandez. we were having trouble with your connection and started to panic. has the world inned, yes or no? >> cenk, i'm glad to report the world has not ended here in sydney, at least. we're all good. >> cenk: and what are you guys doing, drinking vodka? >> say again? >> >> cenk: are you sitting around drinking coffee, totally undead. >> yeah, absolutely. we're just sitting around and sipping on our lattes, waiting for the big event. it's quite a build up. >> cenk: and not much happening anyway. all right, that's all.

we just wanted to make sure that you were alive. i want to thank you for joining us on the "young turks" and assuring us the world has not yet ended. >> no, no, it's all good. it's a pleasure speaking with you, cenk. >> cenk: if i have come by sydney i'm coming by and putting a shrimp on the barbie. >> come by. it's the best coffee in sydney. >> you know that guy's thinking all day they're calling me for that. >> cenk: it's a pretty important thing, did the world end or not. >> ben and i made a bet on how many times he would say mate. he did not say it once. >> cenk: ben go. >> santa clara mission college has a junior college and they have a woman's basketball team. joining the team has been a woman, gabrielle. she used to be a man. she's 6'7" or 6'8", so has a

chance to make an impact. the great thing about her to me, is that she's also 51. >> what? >> 51, that's the best part of the story. anyway, we have a report from the locally station. >> cenk: let's watch it. >> 51-year-old gabrielle is a woman, who up until july this year was a man. she joined the mission college basketball team the first week of december. >> i think that people who are either lgbt, they should be able to be themselves, even though there might be a million people telling them no, don't do it, you know, follow your heart. >> that piece is from cbs so thanks for that. i can't imagine playing basketball at 51 with 18-year-olds. >> cenk: bless her heart. i love that she is following her heart and playing ball at 51 which i hope i can do, but i'm going to say something controversial. i don't think she should be on

the women's team. >> not because she's lgbt, because she's 51. you shouldn't be on a college team at 51. >> you don't they she should be able to play after she has done the surgery? >> cenk: yes because genetically she was born a man. don't get me wrong, she can play pick up basketball all day long. >> the only reason to me is because she's 51. >> i don't care that she's 51. who gets -- i think it's amusing, right but that's how community colleges work, you have a hodgepodge of different people. so i remember in my debate team, there was somebody in their 60's. >> cenk: i would have kicked him out. >> maybe i'm wrong maybe that's ridiculous. >> cenk: i'm against what you're saying. there's another guy in his 40's went back to junior college and started playing football. that's my dream. i want to go back and do that. >> your thoughts, the two hosts

in washington were suspended for mocking her for playing and they share your opinion were very derogatory toward her. >> cenk: that was a huge difference, if you listen to them what is it, it's an it. right be it is offensive and i know why they got suspended but i don't think you should get suspended, i hope not for an opinion -- i mean would you let her complete in the olympics. >> yeah. >> no. >> cenk: it's not like oh, i'm going to win a gold or play women junior college basketball and hence i'm changing my self. of course not, i know that she's doing it for the right reason. >> are you saying that she has an unfair advantage because she was born a man? >> cenk: yes. >> in the context of the school, 19 gets hurt. the only unfair advantage is she's giving her team a little benefit. >> the olympics are a different issue. junior college basketball.

but it's an interesting debate about whether the initial genetics give you an unfair advantage. it's a debate like the guy in the olympics who had the prosthetic leg. >> she's 6'8". >> cenk: all right. we got to go. >> two points, two rebounds. >> cenk: let her play. [ laughter ] >> cenk: we'll be back with a final thought. what has happened, why its happened and more importantly, what's going to happen tomorrow.

>> cenk: did you though that because of a recent act that was passed that we wound up paying for romneys transition team? a one day